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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23379067">A Vacation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookie_full_of_arsenic/pseuds/cookie_full_of_arsenic'>cookie_full_of_arsenic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>American Gods (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Fix-It, Gen, Not slash but pretty intimate, Sharing a Room</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:28:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,221</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23379067</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookie_full_of_arsenic/pseuds/cookie_full_of_arsenic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Look, I spent three years in prison,” Shadow said, finally. “I know when it’s just talk, and when things are actually about to go crazy. Whatever it is that’s going on between you and Wednesday … that’s a kind of crazy best avoided.” </p>
<p>Shadow sees things going south and takes Sweeney for a drive.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Shadow Moon &amp; Mad Sweeney (American Gods)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Vacation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I re-watched season 2 (because quarantine) and now I'm mourning Mad Sweeney all over again. I actually think his death was pretty cool, especially compared to his unfortunate end in the book. But I'll miss the character so I wrote myself a little fix-it.</p>
<p>The chocolate coins weren't my idea. I saw something on Tumblr ages ago about Shadow buying them for Sweeney as a joke, and I thought it was cute. :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Don’t get in the fucking way.”</p>
<p>Sweeney expected Shadow to be dismissive. To say Yeah, sure, whatever, and end the conversation. That was Shadow. Anything for a quiet life. Or as quiet as his life could realistically get, given the circumstances.</p>
<p>Instead, he made a sour face, like he was smelling the liquor on Sweeney’s breath. Then, strangely, he looked concerned. Sweeney vaguely remembered Shadow looking at him like that earlier in the day. Back when he was hallucinating ants on his skin. The big oaf had grabbed his face and made shockingly gentle shushing noises. Now Shadow took a half-step backward, putting more space between the two of them, and said,</p>
<p>“I’m going for a drive. You should come with me.”</p>
<p>“Where are you driving to?”</p>
<p>“The Seven Eleven, to pick up some stuff.”</p>
<p>“And why should I come with you?”</p>
<p>“For the fresh air.”</p>
<p>Sweeney had thought he was ready to die. But maybe one last drive in that ugly fucker’s beautiful car wasn’t such a bad idea. Roll the windows down and find some classic rock on the radio.</p>
<p>That was how he found himself riding shotgun, looking for Led Zeppelin on the radio and having to make do with Creed. When he was done fiddling with the radio, he leaned against the window and massaged his temple. His head ached dully.</p>
<p>“Got a headache?” Shadow asked.</p>
<p>Sweeney replied with a grunt, and that was the sum total of their conversation until they got to the Seven Eleven. Sweeney waited in the car, feeling like shit. Worse than shit. Feeling the curse that had been laid upon him and that had, over the centuries, settled into his bones.</p>
<p>Shadow announced his return by throwing a bag into Sweeney’s lap. Inside, there was a bottle of water, a pack of Tylenol … what the fuck?</p>
<p>“The fuck are these?” Sweeney dangled the bag of coins in front of Shadow as he started the car.</p>
<p>“They’re chocolate. Thought you might like ‘em.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t a smirk, but a corner of Shadow’s mouth turned up, just a little.</p>
<p>“Ha fucking ha. What other shit you got in here … toothbrushes? What do we need toothbrushes for?”</p>
<p>“We’re going to a motel.”</p>
<p>Sweeney gave Shadow a long, hard stare and said “Is this a seduction or a kidnapping? Either way, you’re not doing it well.”</p>
<p>Now Shadow was definitely smirking, but perhaps there was a hint of anxiety around those thrice-damned dark eyes.</p>
<p>“It’s a vacation. Just go with it, Sweeney.”</p>
<p>“That might be your style, fucker, but it ain’t mine.”</p>
<p>Shadow was silent a moment, but Sweeney continued to stare at him, hoping the balefulness of his glare would prompt some kind of explanation.</p>
<p>“Look, I spent three years in prison,” Shadow said, finally. “I know when it’s just talk, and when things are actually about to go crazy. Whatever it is that’s going on between you and Wednesday … that’s a kind of crazy best avoided.”</p>
<p>“So this is just you being a good bodyguard for the old bastard,” Sweeney sneered. Well, he was aiming for a sneering tone, but he kind of gave up on it halfway through the sentence.</p>
<p>They drove out of Cairo and along the darkened freeway. Sweeney swallowed a couple of Tylenol and the pain in his head began to ease. In its place came a crushing exhaustion. He thought about letting himself fall asleep. Letting Shadow drive him wherever he wanted to drive, and waking up somewhere new. He remembered doing that with Laura – curled up in a sleeping bag in the back of the ice cream truck, while she drove through the night. What was it about Mr and Mrs Moon, that Sweeney kept putting his very limited trust in them?</p>
<p>Sweeney was dozing lightly by the time they got to the motel, and it took great strength of will to haul his body out of the car. At the front desk, Shadow asked for a twin room, and Sweeney wasn’t surprised. Just because he trusted Shadow, that didn’t mean that Shadow trusted him. The dozy fucker wanted to keep an eye on him.</p>
<p>The room was cramped and very basic but it looked clean, at least. Which was more than could be said for Sweeney, who was in urgent need of a shower. Shadow didn’t object to him hogging the bathroom, so he stood under the hot water for a long time. It seemed to do him good. His head actually felt clearer, and the stiffness in his back (probably caused by spending half of last night lying on the ground under a bridge) melted away.</p>
<p>Afterwards, he toweled himself off and put his boxers and wife beater back on. He considered putting the rest of his clothes back on too but decided against it. Shadow had seen him bleed, vomit, panic and hallucinate. Partial nudity didn’t seem like such a big deal.</p>
<p>When he opened the bathroom door, Shadow was stretched out on one of the beds with his hands behind his head and his eyes half-closed. Then Sweeney’s head was suddenly full of cotton wool and he stumbled, grabbing the door frame to regain his balance.</p>
<p>“Jesus, you okay?”</p>
<p>Shadow was awake and alert in an instant. A good quality in a bodyguard, Sweeney thought vaguely, as the dizziness passed.</p>
<p>“Just lightheaded.”</p>
<p>“Did you eat today?”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>“Well that explains it. This place doesn’t do room service, but we could order a pizza.”</p>
<p>“Nah, it’s too late for that. Pass me those stupid fucking coins.”</p>
<p>The candy coins turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. Proper thick chocolate with a faintly metallic taste that couldn’t have been healthy, but Sweeney liked it all the same. He offered to share them with Shadow, but Shadow only took one coin and talked about what he was going to eat for breakfast tomorrow if they could find a decent diner. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, hash browns, the whole kit and caboodle. By the time he’d finished eating, Sweeney felt less rotten than he’d felt in quite some time.</p>
<p>They both went to bed. Sweeney lay there in the darkness and knew that Shadow wouldn’t sleep until he did. He knew that Shadow was listening to him breathe, and shift about in the bed. It should have been creepy, or infuriating, but it wasn’t.</p>
<p>A few hours ago, there had seemed to be only one option: Fight Wednesday, and either kill the evil cunt, or be killed by him. Now, new possibilities kept crowding in, threatening to overwhelm him.</p>
<p>He could sneak away in the morning, before Shadow woke up. Drive Betty back to Cairo and give Wednesday his battle.</p>
<p>He could sneak away in the morning, before Shadow woke up. Catch a Greyhound bus to wherever and learn to live without his luck.</p>
<p>He could try convincing Shadow to catch that bus with him, because a life without luck might be just about bearable with company.</p>
<p>He could tell Shadow what happened with Laura in New Orleans, and get a beating.</p>
<p>He could tell Shadow everything he knew.</p>
<p>He and Shadow could find a decent diner and get a breakfast of pancakes, bacon, sausage, hash browns, the whole kit and caboodle, and take it from there.</p>
<p>Sweeney fell asleep before he’d made up his mind.</p>
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